Crystal that she was a challenge and thatâs why she was here. But Brynna probably wouldnât like that.
âPopcorn is the white horse. The one with blue eyes like Crystalâs,â Brynna began. âHeâs tall for a mustang and he was abused. Not on purpose, but his adopters thought the way to teach him to carry a rider was to âbreakâ him, to show him who was boss. They thought horses were born to carry riders and the faster he learned how, the sooner heâd be a happy horse.â
Amelia drew in a loud breath, then blushed whenall eyes turned to her. âItâs, uh,â she giggled, âsort of like parents who say âweâre doing this for your own good.ââ
âExactly like that,â Brynna agreed.
It must have been the approval in Brynnaâs tone that made Crystal glare at Amelia. Just the same, Brynna kept talking.
âAnyway, after Popcorn had been shown who was boss one time too many, he became impossible to catch and his adopters returned him to the BLM.
âPenny had a similar experience. She was trained to saddle and then she developed the habit of rearingâ¦.â
As Brynna described the horse, Sam noticed the difference in the girlsâ reactions. Crystal fidgeted in boredom, but Amelia leaned forward, listening as if she could picture each incident.
âThey hired a horse trainer, supposedly a professional,â Brynna said. âHis solution was to jerk the reins tight and pull Penny over backward each time she reared. He would jump clear, of course.â
âDid that teach her?â Amelia asked, frowning.
âIt hurt her. Badly,â Brynna said.
Even Crystal was paying attention now.
âWhich one is she?â Crystal asked.
âThe little blind sorrel,â Brynna said.
âBlind? Youâre not going to make one of us take her. What can a blind horse do?â Crystal rolled her eyes.
âYou might be surprised.â Brynnaâs voice vibrated with anger.
Sam knew her stepmother loved Penny and had little patience with people who thought the mare was useless because she was blind.
Brynna went on more quickly after that, as if her patience was waning.
âAnd then thereâs Dark Sunshine, the buckskin with the foal,â Brynna said. âShe was abused as wellâstarved, whipped, and used as bait in a trap for other wild horses.â
Ameliaâs pale fingers were interlaced and twitching, but she kept quiet.
âJinx is the new horse. You saw Wyatt unloading him. Heâs our mystery mustang, and even though we donât know much about him yet, he carries his history with him in that freeze brand on his neck.â
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â Crystal asked.
Brynna ignored the girlâs impatience.
âThe brand is made up from the Alpha Angle alphabet.â Brynna stopped and her eyes met Samâs. âItâs code, sort of, and Iâll let you decipher it so you can learn how old he is and where he came from.â
âHeâs kind of a weird color,â Amelia ventured. âWhat is it?â
âGrulla,â Sam answered.
âA grew-ya?â Amelia asked quietly.
âIn Spanish,â Brynna began, âit means craneââ
âLike machinery or one of those gawky birds?â Crystal asked.
âThe bird,â Brynna said, keeping her voice level. âProbably the blue-gray ones.â
âTheyâre a symbol of peace, too,â Sam said. She wasnât sure why she put that in, except there was something in the neglected horse that looked like it needed a bit of peace.
âWe have another mustang on the ranch, too,â Brynna said. âSamâs horse Ace. But heâs not part of the HARP program.â
âWhy not?â Crystal asked.
âBecause his adoption, here at River Bend Ranch, has worked out like most. Heâs happy to be here and weâre happy to have